told the crowd stand up for your rights. we will aggravate, agitate, be a nuisance until our voice is heard. somebody else warned the crowd, those of you in other cities that think it won't happen to you, you just wait and see. she argued being put under an emergency manager left her town, highland park, in worse shape than when the emergency manager got there. michigan has been experimenting with emergency managers for awhile now. and that experiment has produced bad enough results that a couple of democratic congressmen from detroit are asking for help from the federal government. before now, they asked the federal government to consider how emergency management gets rid of local voting rights, which is particularly fraught, given that half the black population of michigan has now had its local voting rights taken away by these measures. now the two detroit congressmen are asking for another kind of help. they're asking the government accountability office to look into whether emergency management even works, quoting congressman john conyers, it is difficult to identify a single instance where an emergency

manager succeeded in turning around the financial fortunes of a city or jurisdiction. and yes, if you consider all of the times michigan has taken away local democracy, supposedly to fix a broken place, if you look at the way they've done it going way back, only the one town on this map, marked with a red star, only that one cute little tourist town has actually recovered, has recovered, has gone through emergency management and given their democracy back and then stayed healthy. every single other place on this map they tried it is either still under state control or is faltering. and so why exactly are you giving up your local voting rights? they say you have to because your local democracy cannot be the means by which you solve these problems, but if the problems in your state persist, even under dictatorial control of somebody you didn't elect that has unilateral authority to do everything, including abolishing your town, why are we getting rid of democracy and handing it over to those folks?

what's it for. as of today, the state has taken over michigan's largest city, a grand experiment that has a horrible track record thus far and there's a lot of angry people caught in the middle. i do not know what michiganders say when they want to indicate something will be a real rodeo, whatever that phrase is in michigan, here we go. aren't sleeping out for a rock concert, crowds near the supreme court are atwhath proceedings on gay marriage. espionage in america. this man is accused of giving his chinese girlfriend military secrets that could harm national security. is lindsey von the reason behind tiger's return to being the number one golfer. plus, road rage takes an ugly turn in north carolina. meet powerball $338 million winner and jim carrey's cold dead hand spoof on charlton

heston takes no prisoners in the gun control debate. the highest ghourt the land takes on same-sex marriage. hundreds of people are braving the elements outside the supreme court for a free ticket inside. scalpers are trying to sell those passes for as much as $6,000 and some so-called place holders are earning as much as $36 an hour. what goes on inside the courtroom will garner all the attention. tracie potts is outside the supreme court. good morning. many are calling this one of the most important cases on this year's docket. >> this one and the one to be argued tomorrow, together, will make landmark decisions when it comes to same-sex marriage. a lot of those people have been out here for days. the first one showed up five days ago. compare that to when the health law was argued. we saw the first campers out here about three days early. it gives you some sense of just how important these cases are. dozens are camped out this

morning waiting to be part of history. >> it's okay to disagree with us and about issues, but we still need to be recognized and part of the fabric of this country. >> reporter: experts say it will be hard for the court to ignore a huge shift in public opinion. 20 years ago, most of the country opposed same-sex marriage. >> the fact that the majority of americans support marriage for gay and lesbian couples is definitely going to be something that will be in the back of the justices' minds. >> reporter: two california couples are challenging the state's 2008 voter approved ban. opponents say it violates the 14th amendment. >> we want to feel the same sense of security that other married couples want to have. we think it's worth fighting for. >> reporter: supporters argue traditional marriage must be protected. >> the institution of marriage and marriage laws are designed to attach mothers and fathers to each other and to the children that they may create and raise in the best environment. >> reporter: nine states plus washington, d.c., allow same-sex

marriage. 38 states don't. president obama's changed his mind and so have some republicans. >> if you believe the government should be involved in personal lives which most republicans and conservatives do, then i don't see how it's contradictory. >> we're here for them to get married. >> reporter: last night's vigil just the beginning two of days of arguments that will determine how america defines marriage and for whom. looking ahead it could be a few months before we get a decision on either or both of these cases. but republicans already looking two years ahead to the next election. some saying if their party embraces marriage equality, it could open up donations in big states. >> tracie potts, thanks for that. news of recently acknowledged involvement in the ongoing syrian civil war. white house officials say the united states is training syrian secular forces in neighboring jordan and has been for months. it's seen as a nonlethal way to

bolster forces battling the regime of bashar al assad. the trainings are reportedly not being provided with weapons from any of the countries involved in the training which also include france and the uk. a top rebel leader was injured after an attack after a bomb went off in his car. bail has been denied for a u.s. defense contractor accused of leaking military secrets to his chinese girlfriend. prosecutors say 59-year-old benjamin bishop poses a danger to national security and they want him behind bars until trial. he is said to have handed over classified information on american war planes, nuclear weapons and missile defenses. the breach apparently occurred through e-mails and telephone calls from bishop's home to his 27-year-old mistress, a chinese national studying in the u.s. he was fired upon his admission earlier this month. an ethics investigation is under way looking into the alleged misuse of campaign funds by minnesota republican congressman michele bachmann. a lawyer for bachmann is denying she did anything wrong.

bachmann's 2012 campaign filed a plant with the election committee saying that election funds were improperly used to pay staffers and others. the office of congressional ethics is conducting a preliminary investigation and could dismiss the case or refer it to the house ethics commission. here's your first look at "scrambled politics." the son of rob portman is defending his father's delay in supporting same-sex marriage in an op-ed for his college paper. will portman writes, i'm proud of my dad because he's been thoughtful and open-minded in how he's approached the issue and he's shown he's willing to take a political risk in order to take a principled stand. the man once in charge of american intelligence returns to the spotlight tonight. former cia director david petraeus will speak at the university of southern california. it's his first public appearance since resigning after an extramarital affair. the main ingredient in many

over-the-counter medicines is getting the cold shoulder from indiana lawmakers. a new bill would restrict buying pseudoephedrine to about 5 grams per month. it's an effort to keep it out of the hands of drugmakers who use it to cook up meth. the government spent some $3.7 million on former presidents last year according to the nonpartisan congressional research service. that covers their $200,000 pension, travel costs, office space and even postage. george w. bush had the most expensive 2012 tab at $1.3 million. that includes $85,000 in telephone costs. that's a lot of phone calls. a bill making the rounds in the nevada statehouse would legalize gambling on federal elections. the bill's sponsor says it's just another way for the silver state to make some money. if you feel like placing a bet. actor kelsey grammer tells the guardian newspaper he's not ruling out a political run in the future. the staunch republican said it would be a big nut to swallow. however, someone who is ruling out a run is south dakota

senator tim johnson. nbc news has confirmed the senate banking chairman will become the fifth democrat not to seek re-election next year. and nancy pelosi traded in the house floor for the dance floor last week. the democratic house leader showed off some moves during a rendition of "american pie" at a fund-raiser. even though she was given a mike, she opted to simply mouth the words. that's your morning's dish of "scrambled politics." we have breaking news to bring you now. italy's highest criminal court has overturned acquittal of amanda knox and ordered a new trial. this garnered worldwide attention last year when she was akncquitted of killing a man sh was having a sexual relationship with. her and her boyfriend at the time were both facing charges in the case. amanda knox will most likely face a new trial in this matter. turning to other news. a new jersey man stepped forward yesterday to claim the $338

million powerball jackpot. 44-year-old bodega owner told reporters in spanish she was tired and nervous after turning in the single winning ticket. the dominican-born father of five is, quote, very happy and intends to help his family with the winnings. his wife said she never expected to win and still can't believe it. 13 other tickets worth $1 million each fell just one number short of the skrakpot. well, don't expect to see punxsutawney phil behind bars any time soon. his handler has come forward to take the blame after a criminal indictment claiming phil falsely predicted this year's early spring. groundhog club inner circle president bill dealy said while phil called for six more weeks of winter, he incorrectly translated the prediction. the charges came from an ohio prosecutor who said he may be pardoned for his wrongdoing. nbc meteorologist bill karins is here with the forecast. is somebody misinterpreted your

predictions? >> poor phil. what's he supposed to do. >> he's just a groundhog. >> comes out and sees his shadow or doesn't. it's been painful. everyone was hoping for an early spring. we had it last year. this season has been brutal. look at it this morning. we had our snowstorm yesterday. and now we're watching snow showers all the way down through kentucky into nashville. and even down as far as south as northern portions of alabama and north georgia. it's just a winter wonderland out there throughout so much of the country. now as far as the weather pattern, we did see the big storm go by yesterday that dumped that heavy snow in the mid-atlantic. that's exiting out to sea. we just have these leftover snow showers. the best news out there is even though it's still very cold, no big storms that are going to organize on the west coast and head east. at least we're done with that. we can slowly warm up the air, melt the snow and then we'll have some enjoyable weather around here once we get past

easter. it's 6 in denver. 23 in minneapolis. even atlanta has a windchill of 25. even with sunshine today, atlanta only 49 today. new orleans only 55. so it's still cold and chilly. we're slowly melting the snow by the time we get to wednesday, we start to add about five degrees to the temperature. the key is the positive thing is no more snow in the forecast. >> all right. that is the silver lining. thanks, bill. coming up, we'll have more on that breaking news about amanda knox. plus a fascinating new story about kids and math. a connection to the killer of the colorado corrections officer. plus, check out this spoof on "gilligan's island." you paid for it. you also paid tens of thousands of dollars for this "star trek" parody as well. details coming up in three minutes. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ man ] i got this citi thankyou card and started

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some stories making news this morning. we want to begin with that breaking news. italy's highest criminal court has overturned the acquittal of amanda knox and ordered a true

trial. that means the american and her former italian boyfriend will face a new trial in the 2007 murder of her roommate. she was acquitted in 2011 after spending four years in prison. that was appealed by the prosecution. knox was awaiting the court's decision if her home state of washington. a memorial service monday for the colorado prison's chief just as police make a critical link in their investigation. shell casings found at the scene of a shootout in texas appear to match that at the murder scene in colorado. evan spencer ebel was left brain dead by police after that shootout last week. he's considered a suspect in the case. climate scientists are linking this relentless snowstorm to shrinking amounts of ice in the arctic. new picture resveal ice levels to be at their sixth lowest since records began more than 30 years ago. university of missouri researchers say kids who fall behind as early as first grade in basic math never recover making it nearly impossible for

them to comprehend basic math skills later on. it finds about 1 in 5 adults lack the math competence expected of a fifth grader. president obama named five new national monuments. among them the first state national monument includes 1100 acres of land along the delaware/pennsylvania border. and actor jim carrey is starring in a new video for funny or die. it's called "cold dead hand" and mocks gun enthusiasts. he plays lonesome early. it's his way of expressing reaction to the lack of gun control. asia stocks declined on cyprus fallouts today. you may not have heard of nick delosio but his news reading app was just snapped up by apple for tens of millions of dollars. it takes long form stories and shortens them for smartphones.

yahoo! also gave him a job. johnson & johnson is recalling 2 million blood glucose meters. it's includes the verio iq meters. they do not provide a warning when a diabetic's blood sugar level is dangerously high. instead, they just turn off. boeing says everything went according to plan during monday's test flight of the 787 dreamliner. the aircraft had been grounded after two battery failures. in federal charges have been filed against a french man accused of impersonating a pilot. the ticketed passenger is accused of sitting in an airliner cockpit at philadelphia international airport while wearing a shirt with an air france logo. should airline passengers pay what they weigh? the heavier you and your luggage are, the higher your airfare. it's being proposed by a business professor from norway who says charging for weight and space is a universally accepted principle. and check out these cheesy videos courtesy of your internal revenue service. they are supposedly training videos using the star trek and

gilligan's island themes. the irs paid tens of thousands of dollars to produce them and initially defended the videos saying they save taxpayers on training costs. the spoofs were made in the irs' own $4 million a year tv studio. nra robo calls go out to the residents near the newtown school shooting. we'll have their reaction. plus, hero cops to the rescue. and fgcu fans are in a frenzy. can this juggernaut be stopped? [ male announcer ] this is bob,

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turning back to one of our top stories, today the supreme court will hear arguments in the first two of cases on same-sex marriage. joining me on the phone, christina, political editor for "news hour" on pbs. let's start with the first case deal with prop 8. if prop 8 gets struck down, how would that affect gay marriage bans in some states? >> it depends how the judges rule. what's interesting about these cases. there's two slices at the issue. but, really, with prop 8, it's basically saying that one state's ban on marriage, same-sex marriage, is unconstitutional. so that's applied to every state. >> and who are the justices to watch here? who will likely be the swing voters? >> a lot of people look at justice anthony kennedy as the swing vote. but in this case you really never know. when you look at health care reform, you know, chief justice john roberts was a pivotal vote in this and that took everybody

by surprise. justices know what they are doing in taking this case. they really want it to be a big case. and who knows how they're going to rule. but there's a reason they've decided to take it up. turning to the case on doma. how would a ruling on defense of marriage affect it differently than the one on prop 8. >> there are a number of states that already legalize same-sex marriage. under doma it's difficult for those rights to be recognized if a couple, let's say they get married in massachusetts but move to virginia. well in this case, it would basically say that's not okay to be the law of the land so other states would have to recognize marriages performed in other states, even if they aren't legal in that state. so it wouldn't make gay marriage the law of the land but it would change how couples are recognized. but the whole thing opens up just a much bigger discussion about what gay rights could be. >> christina bellantoni with

pbs' "newshour," thanks. in north carolina, road rage erupted into an all-out brawl. one driver was pummeled after attacking the driver he accused of trying to run him off the road. the beaten man's wife gave him a gun which he allegedly used to fire at his attacker's vehicle. the couple has been arrested on weapons and assault charges. next to ohio where a dramatic rescue was caught on tape. police officers bulled a driver from his burning truck after he crashed into a building. there were no serious injuries reported. to connecticut where residents are expressing outrage over automated calls from the nra urging opposition to new gun legislation. one local had this to say. >> i was just more shocked, you know, that that type of call would come to newtown. >> robo calls from the gun lobbying organization come just three months after a gunman slaughtered 20 children and six adults inside sandy hook elementary school. turning to sports now --

tiger woods is back as the number one golfer in the world. woods won the arnold palmer invitational by two strokes as he hit a long putt that headed straight to the hole. and it looked like it might go in, but it stopped just short. tiger tapped it in for his eighth victory at the event which ties a 48-year-old pga tour record. the masters is in two weeks when woods will try to win his first major tournament in five years with things going his way this year. >> i'm very pleased that some of the shots that i struggled with last year are now strengths, and, you know, one of the things that we need to continue to work on, just getting it more refined. the miami heat's win streak is now at 27 after they made a fourth quarter surge to beat orlando 108-94. the league record of 33 straight is only six wins away. and the fans of the

cinderella team of the men's ncaa basketball tournament, florida gulf coast university, held a pep rally for the eagles who staged who 2 upsets to reach the sweet 16. the players showed their own enthusiasm as they get ready to play florida on friday night. even siri, the famous iphone know it all hadn't heard of fgcu. i couldn't find any places matching florida gulf coast university. maybe that will change soon, as it should. just ahead -- cheers, the fresh prince, mary tyler moore and over 30 other tv classics. which has the best tv theme song of all time. plus, hurricane sandy victims continue fighting back and get a little help from these guys. this is "first look" on msnbc. and noodles on spoons. a kite, a breeze, a dunk of grilled cheese. catches and throws, and spaghettio's. a wand, some wings, soup with good things. sidewalks and doodles and wholesome noodles. puddles and pails

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